China: Day 12

Second verse, same as the first...

This morning we made our second visit to the U.S. Consulate in as many days in an effort to obtain Bella's visa, only this time...we had her passport in hand! Yes, it finally arrived via airplane last night. Praise the Lord! So, we headed back to the Consulate for another appointment so that we could turn in her medical evaluation results and her passport.

Sweet baby girl, ready to finish up the visa process at the U.S. Embassy 

Rocking our red, white,and blue for the occasion
 

Let's do this thing!

We worked with the same, amazingly kind officer again, who assured us (again) he is doing all he can to expedite the process for us. If it works out, we will receive Bella's visa around noon tomorrow and then will immediately depart for Hong Kong via van so that we can make our 6:40 pm flight. If it doesn't work out, we will cancel our flight and will be staying in Guangzhou another night while we wait for her visa to arrive the following day at noon, at which point we will be free to leave. We are crossing our fingers and toes that the expedite is successful and we can make our original flight, but only time will tell. 

So thankful for the extreme kindness and extensive help the Consulate provided our family

Anywho. After our appointment, we spent the rest of the morning being lazy in our hotel room. Bella was unusually fussy; so, we put her down for an early nap. The good thing about that is that it freed up a little more time in the afternoon for us to discover, and play in, our hotel's playroom. It was empty the entire time we were there, giving Bella access to all the toys she wanted. :)

Don't let the straight face fool you. :| She was smiling so big before I pulled out the camera. Ha! 

Shown here: beautiful baby girl with amazing lashes loving the tub o' toys. Not shown here: the 5,687 times she tried to lick the toys. :0

Daddy and his littlest girl in the foreground. Guangzhou in the background.

We had a little more time before dinner; so, we strolled around Guangzhou a bit and then came back to our hotel room to introduce Bella to...bubbles! She seemed a little confused at first, as they gracefully floated all around her, but then she realized she could pop them, and she loved it!

What are these "bubbles" you speak of, Momma? 

Wait--I can pop them?

Oh, bubbles are fun!

The most ticklish child we have ever met vs. the master tickler :)

Finally, we met up with the other two families we have been on this journey with to go to one last dinner together, and it was SO fun! The food was great and there was a band there playing American tunes that was AWESOME! Such a perfect dinner to end on. <3

Our friends Jessie and Jason adopted the most precious 3-year-old girl, Audrey, who is sweet as can be. Our friends Melissa and Brad adopted the most handsome 5-year-old Buddy, Salem, who is going to move mountains. We cannot begin to explain how thankful we are to have gone through this experience with these amazing families. Together, we have experienced the highs and lows and stresses and joys of being in China. We met our children together and we have each already seen such incredible transformations in all three of our sweet little ones since we met them last Monday. We are forever bonded by what we have been through together. We have made invaluable memories together, and we will miss them dearly. I have no doubt that future reunions will be happening. <3

Our people. <3

And now, we wait to hear if Bella's visa was expedited. If so, we will say farewell to China tomorrow. If not, we will have one more day in Bella's homeland. We have loved our time here, but we are ready to go home. Tomorrow morning, we will know when our farewell will take place.  Stay tuned... <3